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Msgr. Barnes on appointment of Lady Bishop for London

Msgr. Edwin Barnes over at his Antique Richborough blog laments the appointment of Sarah Mullaly as the Church of England’s next Bishop of London.

He writes:

News of the appointment of the next Bishop of London, Sarah Mullaly, has come as an early Christmas present for some in that diocese. For others it appears to have come as a shock and a distincly unwelcome gift. No doubt, though, they will find a way of living with the latest new reality, some by emulating the Bishop of Horsham and discovering they were wrong all along, others by drawing yet another line in the sand as they retreat up the beach, back towards an unyielding cliff face.

When the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was established, many of us who took the opportunity given us by the Holy Father were surprised. Friends who had previously declared themselves staunch Anglo-papalists discovered reasons why it was impossible for them to make the leap just now. In a year or two, when conditions in the Cof E became unbearable, they would jump, but not just yet. There was the children’s education to consider, or the wife’s work, or the need to build up a larger pension. Few admitted that their incumbency was too comfortable just now, or that they might have to amend their lifestyle.

I think it is interesting to learn Bishop Steven Lopes’ gift to his priests this year is Cardinal Robert Sarah’s book “God or Nothing.” Eventually, everyone’s life will come down to a choice between God or self, usually at a point of great suffering.

Last week, I recorded the first podcast for the Anglicanorum Coetibus Society with Msgr. Keith Newton, in which he goes into detail about the uncertain days for those clergy who did choose to become Catholic. He said the Promised Land was in sight, but we had no idea how we would get there. The podcast will be ready soon behind our soon-to-be-announced membership wall over at http://www.acsociety.org. Why not go over to the site now and renew your membership or join so you won’t miss out on our latest journal, our upcoming podcasts and more.